30 Days (PART 3!!!)

Haha so second day of watching the show, and for the first time we have discovered episodes that are not endearing us to the program. Lucky we started with the fun episodes halfway through what is available on Netflix, if these were the first ones we saw we would likely have stopped viewing it at all, because these two episodes are seriously stupid.

The first episode is about minimum wage. Admittedly, I wanted to watch this episode because I believe that there are ways to get by with minimum wage income. Now before anyone gets all angry, my opinions are not based in ignorance. I worked with nothing but guys from the lower class at my last two jobs, which were for a moving company and landscaping company. Both entry level positions, manual labor, no credentials required. I also previously worked for Walmart. Here is what I have seen at those jobs. One coworker was living out of a motel because of lack of credit. Motels cost more than an apartment, so that is a waste of money. At least two co-workers were paying child support to ex-girlfriends they knocked up. One co-worker told me that he bought a fifty dollar bag of weed, smoked it in one night. Then the next day his cell phone was turned off because he hadn't paid his phone bill... All of my co-workers regularly drank, most of them smoked weed, almost all of them smoked cigarettes. A few were resourceful enough to ride bikes or buses instead of drive, but since they partake in these other money sinks, it hardly does them any good. A lot of my co-workers had also been in trouble with the law, and had court fees or required drug tests they had to pay for. Now, everything I have listed above are CHOICES. They are not costs that you need to have. They all resulted from poor decisions that cost them extra money, money they did not have.

So moving on to the episode. The premise was that the host and his wife would both live off of minimum wage jobs for a month to see how it works. The minimal wage at the time was $5.50, or about $4.75 after taxes. Now they are assuming a 40 hour work week each. Now let us run the numbers. 2 people, 40 hours a week each, 80 hours total. 80 hours for $4.75, that is $380.00 a week total income. 380x4=1520 a month. Now first of all, this was in 2002 or 2003, so the cost of most things was cheaper back then, but for my hypothetical I am going to use my own living expenses as a model, which means it should be MORE expensive than the show portrayed.

So in the show, not only did both people get jobs that paid ABOVE minimum wage, but they were incredibly bad with their money. They got a bus pass instead of driving, which was good. So let us go through a list of expenses. Rent, food, utilities, and insurance if you have extra. They have no loans, no debt, no cars. They find an apartment for an amazing $325.00 a month, very cheap. This leaves you with $1195.00. Now my own utilities bill for two people is under $100.00 a month, so let us assume that amount as well, leaving with $1095.00. Me and my wife also spend less than $500.00 on groceries a month, so we can use that number. $695.00 left. Oh look, that is all your necessities, and you have $700.00 left. You could have stayed in a NICE apartment and still had money left. And yet, they somehow cannot manage to make ends meet. Let me point out why.

First of all, they went to the movies and bought drinks there. If you are struggling to survive, you don't get luxuries. Otherwise you are struggling not to survive, but to afford privileges. They also went out to dinner once in a while. Now how did this eat away their $700.00? I imagine this would be enough left over for your average spending money. But no, what happened was both of these mid 30's people went to the hospital in the same month. The bill was about $500.00 total. Well I guess if you are some kind of idiot who almost dies monthly then yeah, affording that is hard.

Now, I didn't mention insurance above. Personally, the extra $700.00 they had could cover the same renters, health and dental insurance me and my wife have now, and I imagine this was cheaper 12 years ago, as most things were. So I honestly have no idea how they were struggling, especially since all of my calculations are based on minimum wage, and they were making more than that. But I don't know as much about their experience as I do my own, so let us try something else.

The minimum wage now is $7.25 an hour. According to Google (if you have something more concrete let me know) the income tax in 2013 started at 10%. That would be around seventy cents an hour. I don't feel like doing exact calculations, so let us round up. Taxes are a dollar an hour in our assumption, leaving us with $6.25 an hour for two people. Two people, eighty hours a week total, that is $500.00 a week, or $2,000 total a month. This is actual money you have to spend, since taxes are done.

Alright, we are using my own life and real expenses as an example, because I KNOW that this life style not only is possible, but is actually very, very enjoyable. There is nothing I go wanting for. So here we go. The apartment me and my wife share is less than $900.00, so we will use that number to keep the math simple. Our food is less than $500.00. Now, we do not live a minimalist lifestyle, so I am going to make some extrapolations. If we were stuck in the same situation as the people on the show, we would assume no student loans and no cars, since they took the bus. So transportation is free after a one time bus pass cost. That is a total living cost of $1,400.00 so far. Utilities, $100.00. Let us assume they get really fast internet, the same as we have. $50.00. $1550.00 total thus far. Well what else do we need? Basic food, water, shelter and entertainment are covered already (stream your shows you lazy people), leaving us with optional things. First up on optional, insurance. Renters: <$100.00, Healthcare for two people <$400.00, Dental <$100.00. With all of the same insurance that me and my wife have NOW, that is a total of  $2,150.00.

So you are a little over. If you're barely surviving, get a $600.00 apartment. Just going down in luxury for living space will give you $150.00 spending money a month, and I have seen apartments for less than $500.00. This is all without government assistance of any kind, and you now have all your living costs covered, full insurance for your stuff and your well being, as well as outright luxuries like internet. You can use Skype for free to make phone calls, or you can splurge on cell phone plans (which can come with free phones) using your spending money.

So there you have it. A workable plan to survive the modern day on nothing but minimum wage, with money left over. My wife and I have these exact expenses, except we also have student loans from college and car payments and such. If you went to college, you shouldn't be working minimum wage for long, and if you can't afford a car, you shouldn't have one. If you think this plan isn't workable, please comment and let me know your doubts or objections (in a civil manner) and we can discuss it.

Now that I have laid out my own plan for living if I was forced to work minimum wage, allow me to outline all of the ways that most people could live more cost effectively without being crazy. I am going to do this by listing the ways I have seen people hemorrhage their money. #1 alcohol. Alcohol is a luxury, and a stupid one since it not just costs a lot, but damages your body and can cause things like tickets, hospital trips, etc. #2 drugs/cigarettes, another example of burning money. Neither are needed, neither are healthy, and both can lead to complications in health or in court depending on your drug of choice. #3 Children. A lot of people say how hard it is to be a parent working minimum wage. Then DON'T HAVE KIDS. Sex is optional, birth control is free if you lack self restraint. You CHOOSE to risk having kids, so any cost associated with them is not something you get to complain about. If you want kids eventually, you had best get a better job or work long enough at your current one to get a promotion. #4 court/parole/required drug tests, etc.  To quote a favorite movie of mine "STOP BREAKING THE LAW ASSHOLE!" (Jim Carrey, Liar Liar) It really is that simple.

Now, I believe that the reasons listed in the paragraph above are the dumbest things I see people waste their money on when they cannot afford to. There are also things like eating fast food constantly and just making poor monetary decisions, but there are so many of those I can't go into them all. These are the top, glaringly obvious, decisions you should be avoiding if you are struggling to get by. I am not an economist and I don't even really budget (until this blog obviously) but I know for a fact not doing the four things above will save you some money.

Now the one concession I will make is this. The show assumed, as did I, that there would be TWO people living in one place and working together for their common good. With one person, you would have to cut all of your costs in half. Insurance and food should be cut in half just by subtracting one person, because I did not factor in if there was a discount for group insurance. Me and my wife have individual plans through different companies. However, utilities won't cut in half, and rent will be hard to since a couple can share a bedroom without discomfort where one person needs a bedroom still, and even with a roommate, you want separate rooms. So yes, I do think that for single people it is hard to get by on minimum wage. Even with a roommate.

One last thing that throws all arguments out the window. My above plans work with minimum wage and forty hours. The only doubt is if you are single or have some kind of additional expense like medical conditions, etc. Well if you have a medical condition, tough luck, I don't have a solution for you and I am sorry. However, if you find my plan unworkable for any reason, or if you are single and struggling because of not having someone to share the burden, there is a simple answer. Work more than one job. If you get an extra 20 hours a week, you will have SO MUCH more money than you need.

So there you go. Full proof assuming nothing ridiculous happens. If you disagree let me know, I love discussing things with people. If you want more information I am happy to provide it. If you're an internet troll, your comment will be deleted without remorse. So long as you are articulate, logical and present your case, I would love to hear it.